Apparatus for the mechanical loading of beetroots



June 12, 1945- "G. KITTLER I 2,378,144

APPARATUS FOR THE MECHANICAL LOADING OF BEETROOTS Filed Feb. 13, 1941 5Sheets-Sheet l June 12, 1945, E 2,378,144

APPARATUS FOR THE MECHANICAL LOADING OF BEETROO' IS Filed Feb; 15, 1941:5 Sheets-Sheet 2 7" i 37 41 l 79 i 5 t nu r June 1945- G. KITTLER2,378,144

APPARATUS FOR THE MECHANICAL LOADING OF IBEETROOTS Filed Feb. 13, 1941 5Sh eets-Sheet 3 Patented June 12, 1945 APPARATUS FOR THE MECHANICALLOADING OF BEETROOTS Georg .Kittler, Opperau, near Breslau, Germanyvested in the Alien Property Custodian Application February 13,1941,Serial No.378,719% In Germany February 5, 1940 Claims.

This invention relates to'an apparatus for the mechanical loading ofbeetroots taken out of the earth, heaped on the field in separate heaps,said heaps being placed the one behind the other in long rows. I g Theloading device comprises a frame on whichguide rollers for the conveyingband are mounted and which carries a conveyor trough, the lower part ofthis frame being bent out of the direction of the conveyor trough, andthe conveying band of theframe rests during the operation on the top ofthe heap of beetroots. In these known apparatus the frame parts whichcarry the conveying band and the conveyor trough are mutually secured inposition during the operation, so that this loading apparatus can beadvantageously employed for heapablema teria'l, that is for conveyingsand, gravel, cereals and the like, but not for loading of heaps ofbeetroots, that is of conical heaps thediameter of so" that "these heapsof beetroots lie always freely between the wheels on thisframe on whicha motor 4 is fixed. In theupper ends of arms 5 of the frame a shaft 6 isjournalled, which carries sprocket wheels I and is driven by a sprocketwheel 3 by means of a sprocket wheel 9 keyed on the driving shaft ofmotor '4. and adapted to be selectively engaged with or disengaged fromthe driving shaft.

Bars II are pivotally oscillatably mounted'on shaft'fi and a shaft l2with sprocketwheels |3"is journalled in the lower ends of these bars,arms l4 being pivotally mounted on shaft H, the free endsof saidarms-carrying a shaft l5- on which two spocket wheels iii are keyed.Chains ll which carries guide rollers 22 for the chains I1.

vention consists in that-the frame-which carries the conveying band andthe conveyor, trough .is during the loading freely oscillatable about ashaft at its upper end, so that the conveying band resting on the heapof beetroots moves downward on this heap in accordance with thedecreasing height of the heap of beetroots. Two embodiments of theinvention. are illustrated by way of example inthe accompanyingdrawings, in which the first embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5and the second embodiment in Figs. 6 and 7.

Fig. 1 shows the loading device in side elevation partly in section,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig. l,Fig. 4 illustrates a detail in section on line 4-4 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 5 illustrates this detai1 in top plan view, Fig. 5A is a detailview showing a modified form of folding prongfor use'with the rake. I

Fig. .6 shows the second embodiment of the invention in longitudinalsection on line 6-6 ofFig. '7,

Fig. 7 is a cross-section on line l-'! of Fig. 6. Fig. 7A is anelevation similar to the righthand portion of Fig. '7, showing themechanism for vibrating the conveyor trough 88.

The vehicle frame I isof such shape that, when moved in the direction ofthe line in which the .heaps .of beetroots lie, it runs by means of itswheels 2 and 3 in straddling relation to the heaps 'At25 ropes 24 areattached'to'the bars Hand conductedover rollers 23 to drums 26.keyed ona shaft '21, said shaft being driven from a sprocket wheel 29 of themotor shaft by means of a-sprocket Wheel 28 and a chain 30. This drivecan'beengaged or disengaged by a clutch when 41 meshes with wheel 46 andis also rotatable on the plate 44. This wheel 41 has a pin 48 engagingin a guide slit 5&- of a bar 49, which is guided in longitudinaldirection in recesses of the bars M. This bar 49 carries at its endsrakes 5l' having prongs 52. When the shaft i2 revolves the toothedwheels 46 and Mare also rotated byth'e worm 45, whereby the rakes 5!,

through the intermediary of the bolt48 and the guide slit 5|], aremoved. to and'fro with bar 49. The prongs 52 of the rakes 5| may bemovably arranged so that the prongs can fold over when moved in outwarddirection, in case they should encounter resistance. Fig. 5A shows thedetailed construction of thistype of prong. It

is here seen that the prongs 52a have the upper ends thereof pivotallysecured as at 52b to frame Ela. A stop 5lb limits the rotation of theprongs about pivot 52b in one direction, 1. e.,-when the prongs bodilymove to 'theleft in Fig. 5A, and a tension spring 520 yieldingly resiststhe rotation 0n the shaft l2, which forms the articulated bolts 39 inthe arms 38 of bars H.

of the prongs in the opposite direction. Members 5m and 52a, are similarto members 5| "and 52 respectively, previously described. A conveyortrough is oscillatably suspended by means of g The bottom of thisconveyor trough is formed by laths 36 extending in the longitudinaldirection of the trough. The upper part of trough 35 is connected bysprings 3! with the bars H. The conveyor trough 35 has further at itsupper end projections 46, cooperating with ratchet wheels 4| fixed onshaft 6, at the rotation of which wheels a shaking movement is conveyedto the conveyor trough.' V

The apparatus is moved by means of the wheels 3 driven from the motor 4and steered by the wheels 2 in a suitable manner.

The operation at the loading of the beetroots is as follows:

The bars II with the conveyor trough 35 and the arms I4 pivot on theshaft 5, and are adapted to be raised or lowered by means of the ropedrum 26 and the ropes 24, so that the conveying device can run withouthindrance over the heaps of beetroots without touching the same. Theapparatus is run over the heap to be loaded so that this heap,designated by A in Fig. 1, between the wheels 2 and 3 of the frame, liescorrectly under the conveying band. The conveying band is then loweredwith the conveyor trough by letting go of the ropes 24 until the arms [4of the bars ll approximately assume the position indicated in Fig. 1 bythick dash lines. Bars 14 have limited downward pivotal movement aboutshaft i2. In

other words, the obtuse angle between members H and I4 is at a maximumin the bold line position in Fig. 1. The prongs of the conveying chainswhich are in the range of the arms [4 rest then on the heap A ofbeetroots. If the conveying device is started, the conveying bandtransports the beetroots from the heap to the conveyor trough 35 and, inthis conveyor trough to the top.

The dray to be loaded with beetroots has been brought so close to theapparatus, that the upper end of the conveyor trough is lyingapproximately over the middle of the dray so that the conveyed beetrootscan be then correctly loaded into the dray.

After the conveying device has been started, the bars H are lowered bygradual letting go of the ropes 24, so that the beetroots from the heapare gradually removed from above downwards. The irregularities, whichmight occur between the uniform lowering of the bars H and the notalways uniform removing of the beetroots from the heap A, are equalizedthereby that the arms [4 with their conveying band rest on the heap ofbeetroots so that they can freely move upwards and downwards.

At the starting of the conveying device the ratchet wheels 4| have alsobeen rotated, which cooperate with the projections 40 of the conveyortrough 35, so that during the conveyinga shaking movement iscommunicated to the conveyor trough, so that the beetroots moved alongthe trough are freed from adhering dirt.

The conveying chains i1 rotate the sprocket wheels I3 and with these theshaft l2 and the worm 45. Through the intermediary of the wheels 46 and41, the guide slit 50 and the bolt 48 the bar 49 is thus moved to andfro and, during the whole time of the conveying, also the rakes 5ioperate, and in such a manner that they bring back again to theconveying band the: beetroots which roll off to the sides.

If the elements of the conveying device have arrived in the positionshown in Fig. 1, all beetroots of the heap have been loaded in the dray.By the winding drums 2B and the ropes 24, the bars i I with the conveyortrough 35 and the arms [4 are lifted again, and the conveying device canthen be run to the next following heap of beetroots.

The movement of the arms I4 relative to the bars H in downward directionis preferably limited by any suitable means, so that the arms l4 cannotoscillate in downward direction relative to the bars H beyond theposition indicated in Fig. 1 in full lines.

In this embodiment of the invention the conveying device operates on itswhole length perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the rowsof heaps of beetroots.

In the second embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7 theconveying device is subdivided and the lower part of the same operatesin the longitudinal direction of the rows of heaps of beetroots andconveys the beetroots to the upper part, which then operates again, asin the embodiment first described, perpendicularly to the row of heapsof beetroots in order to load the beetroots into the dray.

In this form of construction a bracket 6] is mounted on the vehicleframe 60 and a shaft 62 is journalled in this bracket and driven from amotor 63 by a chain 64 and a sprocket wheel 65. The conveyor frame,composed of the elements 66, 61 and 68, is freely oscillatably mountedon shaft 62 and carries the shafts 69, 70 with the sprocket wheels H, 12over which the conveying chains 14 areconducted, which run over sprocketwheels 73 keyed on the driving shaft 62. Also in this instance thechains 14 are connected the one with the other by transverse bars whichcarry prongs 15, the chains circulating in the direction of the arrow Hiwhen shaft 82 revolves. A sonveyor trough 1'1 is suspended in the framepart 68. The frame elements 66, 61, 68 hang on a bow or bail 18a towhich a rope 19 is attached which is conducted by a roller to a windingdrum 8| rotated by the motor 83, so that the conveyor frame can belifted and lowered.

Two boards 83 designed to engage On either side of the heap A ofbeetroots are oscillatable about the shaft 62. Each board 83 carries abar 84 having a slit 85 through which engages a bolt 86 of the conveyorframe.

This part of the conveying device conveys the beetroots into a basket18, from which extends the other part of the conveying device operatingperpendicularly to the first part, said second part conveying thebeetroots from the basket 18 into the dray. A shaft 92 is journalledunder the basket 18 and carries sprocket wheels 93 over which conveyinchains 94 are conducted. The shaft 92 is driven from shaft 62 throughthe intermediary of a chain 9411, a sprocket wheel 95 and, bevel wheels96, 91 and thereby moves the conveying chains 94 in the direction of thearrow shown in Fig. 7. The conveyor trough 88 is, as in the first formof construction, made of laths, but prongs 9! moved by the conveyingchains engage in this instance from below between the lathe, and gripthe beetroots from the basket 18 and convey them on the conveyor trough88 in upward direction, until they drop at 98 into the dray.

The operation is in this instanceas follows: With the aid of the winder8| the rope i9 is first wound up. The'bolt 86 strikes then against the"upper end of the slit in the bar 84 and lifts this bar and with it thecorresponding side boards '83 such a distance that the boards are'lifted'off the gr'oundand the conveying devicecanbe run withouthindrance to the heap A tobe loaded. The apparatus'is then adjusted sothat it assumes the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7 relative to the heapof beetroots A. The rope I9 is then let go again. The frame with theboards 83 descends until the boards, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 rest onthe ground at either side of the heap of beetroots. When the frame isfurther lowered the part of the conveying band 14 operating in the rangeof the frame part 61 comes to rest upon the heap of beetroots, and ifthen by the motor 83 the shaft 62 is revolved, the beetroots areconveyed from the heap A first into the conveyor trough 11 and on thistrough in the direction of the arrow 16 into the basket 18. At the sametime the sprocket wheel 95 is rotated from shaft '62 through theintermediary of the sprocket wheels 91, 96 and the shaft 92 revolved by,the chain 94a, so that by the conveying band 94 and the prongs 91 thebeetroots are conveyed'from the basket 78 on the conveyor trough 88 intothe dray. Also in this instance the conveyor trough 88 is preferablyequippedwith the shaking device such as described with reference to thefirst form of construction. Fig. 7a. illustrates the shaking device fortrough 88. In this figure, the elements designated by referencecharacters ll, 38', 39', 40' and 4| serve substantially the samefunction as elements ll, 38, 39, 40 and 4| respectively in the firstform of the invention, shown in Figs. 1 to inclusive.

The frame 66, 61, 68 descends in accordance with the decreasing heightof the heap of beetroots 1A, so that the element 61 in the lowermostposition of the frame is parallelto the ground whereupon the prongs l5operatingin its range slide along the ground and thus convey allbeetroots from the heap into the conveyor, trough TI and further to thedray.

This loading of the beetroots into the dray takes place extraordinarilyquickly by means of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 5 or by means ofthe apparatus shown in Figs. 6 and 7, so that consequently considerabletime is saved and also saving in wages is obtained. As further the beetroots when travelling in the conveyor trough are freed fromadheringdirt, the efficiency of the vehicle from the field to therailway station is considerably greater than up to the present and thededuction made by sugar factories for the material supplied isconsiderably less, so that with the new conveying apparatus anextraordinarily economical progress is obtained.

The conveying apparatus according to this invention can also be employedadvantageously for loading into the dray potatoes from the fields.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the mechanical loading into a dray of beetroots heapedon the ground, comprising a vehicle frame structure, ground wheelstherefor, a conveyor supported by said frame structure, a rake dependingfrom each side of said conveyor for engaging opposite sides of saidheap. whereby the top. bottom and two opposed sides of said heap will beconfined, and means for moving said rakes toward and away from saidconveyor to thereby laterally condense said heap into a mass beneath theconveyor.

\ 2. A loading device according to claim l wherein each of said racks ispivoted, and adapted to rotate about said pivot when the rake moves awayfrom said heap," and wherein means are moving toward said heap.

3. Apparatus for the mechanical loading into a dray of beetroots heapedon the ground, comprising a vehicle frame structure, ground wheelstherefor, an endless conveyor supported by said frame structure andadapted to rest upon said heap, a rake disposed adjacent said conveyorfor engaging said heap, and means for rectilinearly moving said raketoward and away from said heap at substantially right angles to the pathof travel of said conveyor to thereby condense said heap while it isbeing gathered by the conveyor.

4. Apparatus for the mechanical loading into a dray of beetroots heapedon the gro d, comprising a vehicle framework, a conveyor frame pivotallysupported by said framework, an endless conveyor mounted on said frame,the free end of said frame and associated conveyor being adapted to restupon the top of said heap, a rake carried by said frame and disposedlaterally of the line of conveyor travel for confining said beetrootsbeneath the conveyor, andmeans for moving said rake toward and away fromthe line of travel of the conveyor.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said means for moving saidrake includes a shaft, a worm on said shaft, a bolt mountedeccentrically of its axis of rotation and drive by said worm, and areciprocable bar carrying said rake and having a guide slot into whichthe bolt extends.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said conveyor frame is formedin two sections, said sections being pivotally connected, and means forpermitting limited relative angular rotation of the sections about theconnecting pivot.

7. Apparatus for the mechanical loading into a dray of beetroots heapedupon the ground, comprising a framework, an endless conveyor having oneend thereof pivotally supported by said framework and having a free endadapted to rest upon the top of said heap, and pivoted confining memberscooperating with said conveyor and the ground for forming an elongatedpassageway in which the heap is confined, the free end of each of saidmembers being vertically movable relative to the other of said membersand to the free end of said conveyor.

8. Apparatus for the mechanical loading into a dray of beetroots heapedupon the ground, comprising a framework, an endless conveyor having oneend thereof pivotally supported by said framework and having a free endadapted to rest upon the top of said heap,-confining members cooperatingwith said conveyor,. each member having one end thereof pivotallysecured to said framework, the free ends of said confining membersadapted to rest upon the ground on opposite sides of said heap, andmeans connecting the free ends of said conveyor and confining members,said connecting means permitting limited relative angular movement ofthe conveyor and confining members about their respective pivots.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein cable means are connected tothe free end of said conveyor for lifting the free ends of said conveyorand confining members.

10. Apparatus forthe mechanical loading of beetroots heaped upon theground into a'dray comprising a framework, an endless conveyor having asubstantially fiat elongated collector section adapted to rest upon saidheap and a substantiaily fiat loading section projecting upwardly at anobtuse angle with the top of the collector section, means disposed atthe upper end of said loading section for pivotaliy securing saidconveyor to said frameworha pair of elongaed vertically disposed fiatpanels respectively connected to opposite sides of said collectorsection, said panel forming'in conjunction with the ground and said flatcollector section an elongated rectangular passageway in which said heapis confined, and means for driving said conveyor to transfer thebeetroots in said heap from said passageway to said loading section.

I GEORG- KITTLER.

